Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,338
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$3,972
12.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,549
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$31,310
Kept after tax
$27,338
Worth in national money
$29,549
State rank
38
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $31,310, ranking 38 of 50 states — about 12.52% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Tennessee, this one sits low: 465 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Tennessee is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $31,310 the take-home is $27,338; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $29,549 would nationally. The average comes to $38,100, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Tennessee ranks 38 of 50 for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, with a median of $31,310 — about 12.52% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists occupies position 465 of 491 in Tennessee's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Tennessee, on $31,310, is $27,338 — equivalent to $29,549 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $38,100 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,000 |
| This salary | $31,310 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Tennessee | $27,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,338 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,417 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $31,310 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,714 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Tennessee earn less than $31,310. The published range is $25,700 up to $58,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $27,338 take-home in Tennessee comes from $31,310. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 465 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Tennessee, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,549, the adjusted value of that $31,310 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 465 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Tennessee the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $25,700 to $58,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $27,338, from $31,310, assumes a single Tennessee filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 465 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Tennessee, so $29,549 — the adjusted value of that $31,310 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 465 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,100, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $25,700 and the top tenth $58,000 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Tennessee sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $29,549 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $27,338 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Tennessee is $38,100. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($25,700) and the ninetieth ($58,000) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Tennessee's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $29,549 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $27,338 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.